Sir Sidney came home to us last night.  Me and my three kids drove 5 hours for him.  When he was walked out to me he was in tatters…. rain rot, bleached by the sun, deep gash on his withers, shoes look 3 months old, and he only has three of them hanging on by a thread.  Large osselet on the left front.  He was in a pasture with a sheep out in the middle of nowhere.  I took him anyway.  I paid for him just to get him out of there.  He seems very pleased with himself to be here.  Dr. will xray his osselet so we can make sure we keep him comfortable and serviceable, and the farrier will be here tomorrow to give his feet some much needed relief. He’s had 5 homes in the past 12 months, so he is now ours.  He will be babied from now on and will never know hard work again. He will be treated as a show horse here.  Lots of grass and hunter ponies and his own stall – blanketed when needed and he will have proper vet farrier dental and nutrition.  I hope you have a BLESSED day today…

 (An email to me from Tiffany M. received Wednesday, August 19)

 

 

A couple of weeks ago I was lying in bed on a Friday morning, not wanting to get out from under the covers, not wanting to go to work, just lamenting and feeling the weight of this unusual summer.

On that day it was mid-August and the signs of the summer’s ultimate passing had already begun.  Sitting out on the deck the evening before I had commented to Kim on how early the deck light with its darkness sensor was now tripping on. Our unusual summer was showing signs of winding down.  Some might think signaling the end of this summer might be a good thing.  That might be true if at least some of the reasons this summer has been so traumatic could be changed. But we can’t change God’s plan.  We can only change that which we can control. But the thoughts of moving into the fall and the early darkness combining seasonal affective disorder with coronavirus depression could be quite scary for many.

What do you do at 4:45 p.m. in the afternoon when it is dark outside?  How do you exercise safely, how do you go out and walk in nature and forget about being socially restricted.

Wouldn’t it be nice if our country’s leaders would consider that and extend Daylight Savings Time through the fall and winter this year to help us cope with our “new normal.”

 

On that Friday morning when I was feeling down and out, still in bed but now with a cup of coffee, I opened up my email. While I was asleep I had received this email:

It’s way past midnight and I’m sitting here doing Internet search on an 11-year-old off the track thoroughbred by the name of Sir Sidney. He is the now 11-year-old son of Ghostzapper. I found nothing of great interest other than racing stats and equivalent information. But I was craving a nice photograph or video…. Then I happened upon this: 

A SENTIMENTAL RACETRACK JOURNEY

 May 1, 2019 Curtisc27@Gmail.Com 

 Thank you for this wonderful article. 

You see, I was considering buying this fella for my family. Sight unseen, taking the trailer to meet he and his current owner in a couple days.

 Reading this article sealed the deal.

 I guess I found my Sir Sidney after all. And we will live him well. Wish us luck!!

 

Sent from my iPhone

(Received at 12:29 a.m. Friday, August 14 from Tiffany M.)

 

 

Wait…Sir Sidney?

 

I don’t know Tiffany M. but I do know Sir Sidney.

 

Sidney is part of my sentimental racetrack journey.

 

Once again, after reading Tiffany’s email, I got sentimental.

 

I even got a little teary-eyed.

 

I read Tiffany’s email to Kim.

 

I read “A Sentimental Racetrack Journey” again.

 

Then I read Tiffany’s email again.

 

And I got a little teary once more.

 

I got out of bed.

 

No longer feeling like staying under the covers I was now feeling totally elated.

 

 

Since I last wrote about Sidney just before last year’s Kentucky Derby, he ran eight more races running his last race on July 22, 2019, as a ten-year-old.

Born March 6, 2009, Sir Sidney had worked really hard since he ran his first race on New Year’s Day in 2012 as a three-year-old.  After three races that year, he would be sidelined until that third Saturday in May of 2014 when I was inadvertently introduced to Sir Sidney as a result of that botched wager. On that day he was five years old winning his first race. Over his career that ended last summer, he had run 68 races and finished in the top three 29 times, twelve of those as the winner earning a total of  $269,119.00.  This past March he officially turned eleven years old and was now finally retired.

 

The old guy who last year was still out there working, having to prove himself against the younger fellas, could now relax.

 

But Sir Sidney’s first year of retirement wasn’t like busting out in the RV and taking that dream trip across the country.

 

Nope, he got shuffled from one owner to another and had five homes in twelve months and as was evident in Tiffany description of him in her email of August 19, no one was caring for him anymore.

 

Sidney’s long and proud journey that included all those years of fighting to win was now forgotten. In quite the literal sense, Sidney had been put out to pasture and neglected.

 

Then Sid’s angel of mercy on a wing and a prayer, this nice lady named Tiffany, made the impetuous decision to drive many hours go get him sight unseen.

 

She “found her Sir Sidney after all.”

 

And in doing so she saved Sid.

 

 

Now Sidney can really enjoy his retirement.

He is not being asked to win races anymore, but he is still winning hearts.

He is appreciated and being cared for by a wonderful family.

He “will never know hard work again.”

 

And me?

I am still elated.

Once again we are reacquainted.

Once again he becomes part of my journey.

Once again I got goosebumps.

 

And I get to follow how happy he is by the photos I can view.

 

Next Saturday is the 146^th running of the Kentucky Derby.

It’s not generating the same amount of excitement and sense of optimistic anticipation of producing a new National Obsession as it would normally do for me on the first Saturday in May,  which also serves as my personal unofficial first day of summer.

In fact, it’s being run on Labor Day weekend, the unofficial end of summer.

 

But of course, I will watch.

 

And I hope you will watch too.

 

And like I said in “A Sentimental Racetrack Journey” before last year’s Derby:

 

“I hope you take some time this Saturday and watch the Kentucky Derby. I hope you pay attention to the stories, enjoy the majestic beauty of these animals, get caught up in the drama.

I hope you find something sentimental in the experience that makes you want to return.

I hope you find your Sir Sidney.”

 

Like I did.

Like Tiffany did.

 

Sir Sidney, once again, my vote for Horse of the Year.

 

Post Script:

I would like to thank Tiffany and her family for saving this horse and providing a loving and safe environment for Sidney to enjoy his retirement.

And for sharing the experience with me.

And as for that BLESSED day, it surely was, and not just for me.